Rob's 9g Journal

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#1
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
www.facebook.com
#1
IT. HAS. ARRIVEDDDDDDDDD!

I'm so excited right now. Literally took delivery of the tank 20 minutes ago, despite ebay giving them the wrong address. Took less than 2 days to arrived aswell. Needless to say, glowing feedback has been sent their way.

It's gorgeous. I'll take a picture once I've assembled the filter later on, of course I won't be setting up for another 2/3 weeks but it's actually here! I'm officially back!

Watch this space :D
 

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#2
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
www.facebook.com
#2
Well the tank came with no instructions so assembling the filter was an interesting experience... Though once I rang the dealer and asked the question it was quite simple. If they're not going to supply instructions they should at least make the pictures on the box reflect how it's supposed to be set up!

Anyway, pictures as promised. I'm actually so pleased with it:



Shot of the overhead filtration system in the lid:



Another fts:



Tried some arrangements with bits of driftwood I've been storing for years aswell. This piece is my favourite but gave up hope when it looked this bad:



Then had the brainwave of actually moving it over a few inches.. and voila, I love it:



Seems probably I'll be using this piece in this arrangement. Vallis growing up between the roots of the driftwood, moving over forward and to the right with some cryptocoryne, followed by a nice field of dwarf hairgrass with some pebbles here and there..

:D!
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#4
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#4
That is a really good looking aquarium - very streamline and modern looking! And I do like like the drift wood - it is a very interesting piece. That gives me an idea for the aquarium I am in the process of setting up.
 

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#5
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
www.facebook.com
#5
Thanks guys, I'm really impressed with it. Only issue I've noticed is the seals are quite messy in places and a couple of little "hairs" of silicone have settled on the front glass whilst building and are therefore stuck. They're tiny and barely noticable, but still they're there and it'll annoy me knowing it even if I can't see it. Any ideas on how to get it off?
 

ZackLanduyt

ZackLanduyt

Large Fish
#6
Jun 18, 2010
135
0
16
Lima OH. USA
#6
Just take a razor blade and it will scrape rightt off, I say scrape but really it glydes over the glass as if it were slicked with oil, the razor blade will take it off as if it was never there, just lay the blade at an angle not straight up and down, the tank is pretty sweet I really like the over head filter makes it a goos bit more streamlined!! You can pm me if you have questions on removing the sealer, I can send pics if needed!
 

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#9
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
www.facebook.com
#9
Thanks guys, will try the razorblade idea for sure. There are only two bits of silicone I can see but I'll do a thorough inspection tomorrow, will probably tidy up the edges while I'm at it. Good thing is that at the front there are no corners :D It looks so cool.

I have considered moss on the wood, maybe on a few ends of roots. I'm so excited to get going with it.

My next step is buying the heater and substrate. I'll be getting a 50w heater off ebay (found a good deal on one). The substrate will be a laterite base for the plants, top dressed with play sand (cheap and the look I want). The laterite will be off ebay again, found a box of the stuff for quite cheap, and I'll have a look around for play sand to make sure it won't affect pH or water hardness.

The sale of my 67g tank should (if people actually bid...) finish tomorrow, and the money from that (over £50/$77 if people actually bid on it!) will be paying towards the tank and any equipment. From then it'll be a slow set-up as money becomes available.
 

ZackLanduyt

ZackLanduyt

Large Fish
#10
Jun 18, 2010
135
0
16
Lima OH. USA
#10
I am using play sand in my tank and the water hardness and ph are steady and right where you woant em, I got a 50lb bag for 4 bucks can't beat it, just be sure to rinse it well as it is pretty dusty, your water will be cloudy for a day or so, then clear up well
 

Kallen

Kallen

Small Fish
#11
Sep 26, 2009
38
0
0
Kettering, OH
#11
ZackLanduyt said:
I am using play sand in my tank and the water hardness and ph are steady and right where you woant em, I got a 50lb bag for 4 bucks can't beat it, just be sure to rinse it well as it is pretty dusty, your water will be cloudy for a day or so, then clear up well
Click to expand...
A few years ago when I had to replace the gravel in my 90g I considered using sand..I have seen sand at the Newport Aquarium and I REALLY like the natural look. I didn't get it tho... How do you rinse it well? And how do you clean it? I imagine a gravel vac would just suck in up...
 

ZackLanduyt

ZackLanduyt

Large Fish
#12
Jun 18, 2010
135
0
16
Lima OH. USA
#12
simple, i put 10 lbs in a bucket then filled the bucket up with water, then just dig your hand in and drop the sand again, then dump the dirty water out, repeat this a few times until the water isnt so dirty, i just use a regular gravel vac and keep the vac far enough away to be sure it doesnt p[ick up much sand, i usually get less than a teaspoon in the bottom of my bucket
 

Kallen

Kallen

Small Fish
#13
Sep 26, 2009
38
0
0
Kettering, OH
#13
ZackLanduyt said:
simple, i put 10 lbs in a bucket then filled the bucket up with water, then just dig your hand in and drop the sand again, then dump the dirty water out, repeat this a few times until the water isnt so dirty, i just use a regular gravel vac and keep the vac far enough away to be sure it doesnt p[ick up much sand, i usually get less than a teaspoon in the bottom of my bucket
Click to expand...

"Keep the vac far enough away"...how do you get the dirt/waste out of the sand if you keep the vac away from it?
 

misterking

misterking

Superstar Fish
#15
Aug 12, 2008
1,124
0
0
Manchester, UK
www.facebook.com
#15
Kallen said:
"Keep the vac far enough away"...how do you get the dirt/waste out of the sand if you keep the vac away from it?
Click to expand...
General aquarium waste is light enough that only a slight bit of suction will pull it up. It takes some practise to get the balance right but when you do it's extremely efficient.

@ ZL, a local supermarket sells bags of playsand very cheap and over here they're generally accepted as the best in terms of stable water quality, so I'll go in at some point and get some :)

My 67g tank didn't sell on ebay, so I've relisted it. I figure 6pm was a bad time to end it, most people won't have been back from work even though I had 9 people watching it. Hopefully it'll sell this time round now I've delayed it to 8pm. Unfortunately buying the rest of the equipment (heater, sand, laterite, and eventually plants) will have to wait til it sells. Any UK buyers in the north/north west PM me if you're interested, it's a bargain!

Thanks for the comments guys :) I'm very excited. Hopefully in a weeks time I'll be at least £50/$77 richer and so will be able to go ahead :)
 

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